Its Christmas!!!

Okay, this will be a quick post for all those in the Kennedy and Maynard families as well as those anxious friends to see how Savannah's first Christmas has gone here in Holly Springs! Santa paid us a visit late in the night and left the house around 2:45 am. As he loaded himself back in the sleigh Ann Marie and I heard him exclaim that next year he would get a little earlier start on assembling those complicated toys! You would think he would know better than that since I heard he had an engineering degree! Oh well, I know he made lots of other stops after ours so I am sure he is plenty sleepy today back at the North Pole! Check out the photos below and we will post some more detail after our travels today!

Before we go we want to thank everyone who came to the party last night. The food was incredible, the gifts were not necessary but greatly appreciated, but the friendship we shared as we told stories and waited for the jolly old man in the red suit was the best gift of all! Merry Christmas and we hope we can all do it again next year!


Till we BLOG again.....
Mike (can I sleep now?), Ann Marie (I need more coffee!) and Savannah (zzzzzzzzzz...) Kennedy

Christmas Morning 2006

Welcome Home Charlotte Grace ShiCi!

For all of you checking out our BLOG, we wanted to extend a welcome home to the newest resident here in Holly Springs to Charlotte Grace ShiCi, the daughter of our friends Chris and Karen. They returned from China this past Saturday and we just wanted to let everyone know they are doing well during transition back to U.S. time and even took time out to visit us the day after they returned! Look for more on Charlotte in the future as we expect many playdates to occur!

Mike (is it Christmas yet), Ann Marie (anyone for Talbot's on the 26th?), and Savannah (I need more presents!) Kennedy

Tis the Season to be Merry….

So what can I say, two posts within a month, the boy is back on track! Yes, it’s us again Kennedy watchers, back on scene and working our way to the most magical day of the year!

Where do we start? Well, Savannah made her way to another hockey game to watch our beloved Hurricanes take on the Boston Bruins for a 5-2 win. Uncle Dick tagged along with us and it made for a great night of French fries and friends! Savannah also got her first Stormy doll (Hurricanes mascot) and has not let it out of her sight for a week now! She insists on carrying Stormy and the yellow Care Bare everywhere we go, so needless to say the baggage to travel just got a little bigger!

On Sunday we attended the Stewart family reunion with my family (the Stewarts are my Moms family on her Mothers side, and a very strong presence in the Harnett County vicinity of North Carolina), but needless to say we forgot the camera at home, so we will post some photos after my sister sends some to us! Savannah was a huge hit with the family and enjoyed playing with the other kids (and adults) in the gym attached to the church.

After the reunion we made our way back to Raleigh to celebrate the impending departure of our friends Chris and Karen Dadd to China where they will be blessed with their daughter Charlotte Grace ShiCi Dadd. Ever since we met our friends Chris and Heidi Loflin we have made it a special event to have dinner at P.F. Changs before the departure to China, but this time we had Savannah with us! It was a great meal topped off with the now famous “Great Wall of Chocolate” cake to end the night!

On Tuesday of this week the Stultz family came over for dinner at our house and a great time was had by all, especially the kids! Slow cooked BBQ and all the fixings for the adults and hotdogs with Pam’s famous Mac n Cheese for the girls followed up with brownies and ice-cream made for a lot of full bellies! Dean and I retired to the “Man Room” to watch a little TV while the girls played downstairs, then we all reconvened for the dessert show where Molly, Emma and Savannah entertained us by racing around the downstairs on Savannah’s little fire truck, much to the delight of the audience! To end the night we had to pry Savannah from the Stultz’s minivan so they could get the girls home! I think she was ready to move in with them, but she relented to stay with Mommy and Daddy once again! I think we need to work on that little brother or sister starting now!

On Thursday we had Pam come back over for an Usborne Book Show at our house. Due to the holiday season we didn’t have many people come over, but a good time was still had by all in attendance! We even received a phone call from Heidi in Maryland to check in on us! After several hours of books, snacks and laughter we called it a night and said goodbye to Chris and Karen as they would depart the next morning for Hong Kong, the final step before Charlotte becomes a part of the family! If you want to follow the Dadd’s during the trip as we do, check out this site and be sure to post a comment sending your best wishes using the comment block. We loved hearing from everyone while we were in China and I am sure they will as well!

http://www.charlotteadoption.blogspot.com/

We are now up to Saturday and this was Savannah’s first year of picking out the Kennedy family Christmas Tree! Savannah, Ann Marie and I ventured over to the lot near our house and found they had many beautiful trees that had just been cut less than 24 hours before! After about 30 minutes of perusing every tree in the lot Savannah finally selected the perfect tree and after a quick shake (no loose needles!) and wrap we were headed home with our first family tree! After unloading the tree we quickly packed back into the van for another first………..a visit to see SANTA!

At The Streets of South Point in Durham we wasted the night away watching shoppers move about in a hurried frenzy, frolicked in the snow show they put on each night around the 50 foot Christmas tree and shared sugar cookies and hot chocolate as we strolled among the outdoor stores. As this year we decided that we would not exchange family gifts, only gifts for the children, the shopping lists have been short and time a little more manageable. This all lead up to the time we were on our way to meet the Big Man himself! Waiting in line we could tell that Savannah was excited, but we had no idea how she would react to seeing the “Real Santa Claus”. A bit hesitant when place on Santa’s lap for a photo, Savannah asked Mom to join her to ease the pain a bit. It’s a classic photo for Christmas #1 as a Kennedy and one that will surely make a smile appear each time we see it!

Well, its time to leave you now as there are boxes of decorations waiting to be unloaded and tree in the garage that is yearning for its place in the house in preparation for a Christmas morning we shall never forget! We will post a little more later, but for now please be sure that you do not forget the real reason we celebrate the Christmas Holiday by getting caught up in the shopping, lights and food. Slow down when you can, find someone you love and give them a hug as you wish them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, then ask them to pass it along. Till next time…..

Mike (Lots of sap in here, full, but lots of sap), Ann Marie (I think a Main & Taylor gift certificate is more than acceptable), and Savannah (Why is Santa in Durham instead of the North Pole?) Kennedy